Success Stories

Cotton in India

10 Jul 2012

Cotton is a potentially important commercial crop and plays a vital role in the textile industry in India. As an irrigated crop it is extensively grown in areas where conventional irrigation methods are commonly used. However, the seed cotton yields and water use efficiency achieved with these methods are very low. In several countries including USA, Australia, Israel, Egypt and others, new irrigation technologies such as drip irrigation have been introduced for cotton.

Implementing drip irrigation to grow cotton not only enables the efficient use of every drop of applied water but also leads to enhanced crop growth and yield advantages. This is due to maintenance of uniform soil moisture regime in the crop root zone by way of frequent irrigations at shorter intervals. Besides irrigation, a major component of profitable cotton production is sound and balanced fertilization. Fertigation i.e., application of fertilizers via irrigation system, ensures the efficient use of nutrients, fertilizer conservation, environmental protection and economics of cotton production. Therefore, an on farm trial was taken up to demonstrate the benefits of drip irrigation in cotton in India.

Situation

Fibre and agro-industrial crop

Climatic change & water scarcity concerns

Increasing fertilizer & labour costs

Leaching and washing away of nutrients by runoff

Low water & fertilizer use efficiency

Low seed cotton productivity/ha

Favourable cotton prices

Need for drip

Economic importance of cotton in meeting fibre for textile industry and employment generation

To conserve water, increase water & fertilizer use efficiency and optimize cotton yields